Tesco Potentially Saving £105m in Business Rates

Tesco could save £105 million in business rates, thanks to the recent property revaluation. The news is putting pressure on independent shopkeepers, who have been hit hard by the latest business rate increases across the country.

Tesco’s business rates bill for its larger stores could fall by £105 million over the next five years, because of an anomaly in the way that the tax is calculated. The government is under pressure to take action over business rates, because property prices in some parts of the country have soared, forcing rateable values up by 152% for some business owners.

Shop owners are saying that the hike has threatened the viability of their business, while Amazon and other online retailers are enjoying a steep discount, as bills for their distribution centres have fallen.

MPs are under pressure to ‘level the playing field’ between online retailers and the owners of high street stores, and Clive Betts, the chairmain of the communities and local government committee, says that he will be pushing for a timetable for a review of the valuations, because high street stores are paying more than those in similar out-of-town units, and this is at odds with the prevailing view that the high street needs some protection.

Transitional relief policies mean that there are limits on how quickly rates can rise and fall, but small shops and pubs have seen their bills increase dramatically, while Tesco, which as 3,400 UK stores, has seen its bills fall massively in the 2017 revaluation.